Another IndyCar season is upon us—the second season with Will Buxton as the voice of IndyCar. Buxton ably took the microphone from Leigh Diffey when the NTT IndyCar Series shifted from NBC to FOX in 2025, and it was a new experience for everyone. But it’s become just as much a pleasure to hear him calling races, and to see him explore the wide world of IndyCar.

Make no mistake about it, Buxton came to IndyCar with plenty of his own bonafides from Formula One and Speed Channel and elsewhere. He’s not some new kid on the block, and he’s been an IndyCar fan for a long time. But what has been a joy is seeing him get to turn that fandom into his full-time job, with all of the ups and downs and occasional Wienermobile-related puns. Will Buxton is all of us, except with incredible broadcasting skill.

Anyone who watched the latest season of 100 Days to Indy saw the amount of time and anxiety he put into preparing to call his first Indy 500. It was wonderful to see Will included, and to get an inside look at not only the effort, but at how much he cared about getting it right. And anyone who watched FOX’s Behind the Broadcast series saw this same man hyped up on Twizzlers and Twinkies. That intersection between studious devotion to his craft and overexcited energy is where Will Buxton lives, and because of that, everybody can relate to him. He’s not just the guy in the booth; he’s the guy we want to watch a race with. Which is an elite quality when a component of his job is getting people interested in racing.

The man Buxton replaced, Leigh Diffey, is among the elite of broadcasters. There’s a reason he also calls the Olympics for NBC Sports. Diffey is a consummate professional who brought a grandeur to his IndyCar calls; the way he’d call the Indy 500 every year would make chills run down your spine. And he, too, is an awesome human being. Diffey’s work in IndyCar was fantastic and will always be special, and he will always be missed.

But if he was one of the statesmen of IndyCar, Buxton is the hyperactive younger brother who has become a fantastic steward of the sport. This man is game for anything. When he was a pit reporter in Formula One, he learned how to race. Last year in IndyCar, he went on a PitFit workout with Alexander Rossi and seemed to pull every muscle in his body. And his reactions when he’s in the car for hot laps have become legendary. Yet that’s what Buxton brings to the table that so many other commentators in any sport don’t: a constant want to learn, to experience rather than just describe the experience, to be part of the emotion of it all. The only people having more fun than WIll Buxton on race day are the people actually in the race.

That energy works because he’s educated himself on everything, because he has all those years of experience, because he takes these extra opportunities to get out into the world of racing. Buxton’s high energy level isn’t another commentator shouting into a microphone. He knows what he’s talking about and he knows what fans want to know; he can bring the necessary information to paint the picture, He might literally paint the picture, too, as he did at his first Indy 500. That high energy comes from a genuine place of being that interested in IndyCar. And when fans have commentators who are as invested in the sport as they are, that’s truly something special.

Now they can look forward to Will Buxton’s adventures in year two of his IndyCar career. How many more great moments are out there for him? What stunts will the FOX broadcast team convince him to do—try all the trackside food like Christian Rasmussen did at Road America, maybe? How many hot laps will he be anxious somewhere during? Buxton’s next chapter of his broadcasting career is already one heck of a page-turner. And someday when he writes another book, one specifically about his story in motorsport, it’s going to be a great read. Until then, here’s to the man who took over from an IndyCar icon and has already made the role his own.

The 2026 IndyCar season begins with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 1. Photo Credit: James Black/Courtesy of IndyCar.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.